Skip to main content
Horizontal Rule

What is Planned Giving?

A planned gift is any major gift made during your lifetime or after death as part of your overall financial and estate planning. Often referred to as charitable gift planning or legacy giving, planned giving enables you to support nonprofits with larger charitable gifts than you could make from ordinary income.

Learn More

You Can Make a Legacy Gift

All Gifts Make a Difference

You don't have to be extraordinarily wealthy to make a planned charitable gift. Even a small contribution can have a large impact over time.

You Have Options

You don't have to choose between leaving a gift to your family OR charity. You can do both!

It's Easy! We Can Help

A simple designation to Akron Community Foundation can bring incredible support to the charities you love.

Ways to Give

The goal of planned giving is to fulfill your philanthropic wishes in coordination with your overall financial and estate planning. Whether you name a charity as the beneficiary of your will or retirement plan, establish a gift that also generates income for you, or donate appreciated stock, you ensure that the charities you care about are supported well into the future.

An outright gift is a simple way to support your favorite causes by contributing to or establishing your own charitable fund at Akron Community Foundation.

Form of Gift:

  • Securities
  • Real Estate
  • Life Insurance
  • Personal Property

Size of Gift:

  • Unlimited

Advantages:

  • Deductible for income tax purposes
  • Avoid capital gains tax

With thoughtful planning, you can leave a meaningful legacy to your favorite charities. A popular way to make a legacy gift is through a will or trust. Your gift can support a beloved charity, augment your current giving, or even be used to establish an endowment fund at Akron Community Foundation.

Form of Gift:

  • Home
  • Cash
  • Securities

Size of Gift:

  • Unlimited

Advantages:

  • Use of assets during your lifetime
  • Life income gifts and lead trusts may be made in testamentary form
  • Enables you to make a significant future gift
  • Simplicity: Designate Akron Community Foundation as a beneficiary in your will or living trust
  • Ability to modify your plans if your needs change

Learn More

If you are 70 ½ or older, a qualified charitable distribution to Akron Community Foundation can be an excellent way for you to make a charitable gift. By sending the funds from your IRA directly to charity, your benefit is two-fold: you can avoid paying the usual taxes while also satisfying your required minimum distributions.

Leave Your Retirement Assets to Akron Community Foundation

Did you know 60%-65% of your retirement assets may be taxed if you leave them to your heirs at your death? Another option is to leave your heirs assets that receive a step up in basis, such as real estate and stock, and give your retirement assets to Akron Community Foundation. As a charity, we are not taxed upon receiving retirement plan assets.

Form of Gift:

  • IRA distribution

Size of Gift:

  • Up to $105,000 per year (or up to $210,000 for married couples), with the limit indexed for inflation each year

Advantages:

  • Avoid taxes on the distribution
  • Reduce your taxable income, even if you do not itemize deductions
  • Satisfy your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year
  • Use a QCD to make a one-time transfer of up to $53,000 to a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust
  • Support your favorite causes by using your RMD to create a charitable fund, including a designated fund or scholarship fund. (Note: The IRS does not permit qualified charitable distributions to donor-advised funds.)

A charitable gift annuity enables you to make a gift to your favorite charity and receive fixed payments for life in return. The payments may begin immediately or can be deferred to a future date of your choice. The terms of the charitable gift annuity arrangement are set forth in a contract signed by you and the charity. The arrangement terminates upon your death, at which point the designated charity will receive the remaining funds. Charitable gift annuities cannot accept additional contributions once they have been established, but it is simple to set up additional annuities if needed.

Form of Gift:

  • Cash
  • Securities
  • Life Insurance

Size of Gift:

  • $10,000 minimum

Advantages:

  • Simple to establish; no set-up costs
  • Fixed payments for one or two lives
  • Payments guaranteed by Akron Community Foundation
  • Tax deduction when gift is made
  • Reduced, prorated capital gains tax on gifts of appreciated property
  • Permits a deferred payment schedule, if desired

A charitable remainder unitrust is a tax-exempt irrevocable trust designed to reduce your taxable income. It accomplishes this by disbursing income to the beneficiaries of the trust for a specified time period and then donating the remainder to the designated charity. This is a "split interest" giving vehicle that allows you to make additional contributions, be eligible for a partial tax deduction, and donate the remaining assets.

Form of Gift:

  • Cash
  • Securities

Size of Gift:

  • $300,000 recommended minimum

Advantages:

  • Payout percentage is negotiated by the donor at trust formation
  • Can be tailored to the donor's situation
  • Can provide income to one or more noncharitable beneficiaries
  • Can be for life or a term of years (up to 20)
  • Receive a tax deduction in the year your gift is made
  • Permits deferred income, if desired
  • Excellent for gifts of real estate
  • No capital gains tax on gifts of appreciated property
  • Donor can make additional contributions to trust

A charitable remainder annuity trust is a type of gift transaction in which you contribute assets to a charitable trust. The trust pays an annuity designed to leave a substantial portion of the funds to charity upon termination of the annuity. Unlike CRUTs, you cannot make additional contributions after the trust is formed.

Form of Gift:

  • Cash
  • Securities

Size of Gift:

  • $300,000 recommended minimum

Advantages:

  • Fixed income is established by the donor at trust formation
  • Can be tailored to the donor's situation
  • Can provide income to one or more noncharitable beneficiaries
  • Can be for life or a term of years (up to 20)
  • Receive a tax deduction in the year your gift is made
  • Permits deferred income, if desired
  • Excellent for gifts of real estate
  • No capital gains tax on gifts of appreciated property

A charitable lead trust is an irrevocable trust designed to provide financial support to one or more charities for a set amount of time. After that period has expired, the balance of the trust is then paid out to the beneficiary. This results in a reduction of taxes owed by the beneficiary upon inheritance of the remaining balance. It also provides other potential tax benefits, including an income tax deduction for charitable donations and savings on both estate and gift taxes.

Form of Gift:

  • Cash
  • Securities
  • Real Estate

Size of Gift:

  • Usually over $500,000; sometimes $300,000 minimum

Advantages:

  • Allows property to be passed to others with little or no shrinkage due to taxes

Gifting your life insurance policy is a simple and impactful way to support your favorite causes and charities. If your life insurance policy is no longer needed or will no longer benefit your survivors, consider using it to establish or grow your charitable fund at Akron Community Foundation, which will continue giving back in your name forever.

Gift of Life Insurance Today

Did you know you can give your paid-up life insurance policy to Akron Community Foundation today and receive a charitable income tax deduction for the current value of the policy? If the policy is not paid up, you can still transfer ownership to Akron Community Foundation and then make tax-deductible contributions to us each year to pay the premium. Your fund will ultimately benefit from the proceeds of your policy.

Advantages:

  • Receive an income tax deduction for the value of the policy once it is irrevocably transferred
  • Ongoing gifts to charity are tax deductible; charity pays the premium
  • Make a large future gift at a small cost now

Size of Gift:

  • Unlimited

Designate Akron Community Foundation as the Beneficiary

Alternatively, you can choose to designate Akron Community Foundation as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy. You will continue to own and can make use of the policy during your lifetime. The policy will be included in your taxable estate when you pass away, but your estate will benefit from an estate tax charitable deduction for the value of the gift to us.

Advantages:

  • Make a large future gift at a small cost now
  • You may change the beneficiary later if needed
  • You may borrow on the policy

Size of Gift:

  • Unlimited

How We Can Help

The future is unpredictable – your legacy shouldn't be. Together, with your advisors, we can help you navigate your charitable giving options and determine which gifts work best for you.

Planned giving may be right for you if you're willing to consider charitable plans that:

  • Take place upon your death
  • Ensure your family and friends are cared for first
  • Guarantee you a lifetime stream of income

Ready to embark on your journey of legacy giving? Consider one of our many planned giving resources. We offer sample gift plans, calculators, and the option for Akron Community Foundation to work with your professional advisor – all at no cost.

FAQs

Whether it's a gift of stock you plan to transfer in the near future or a bequest you leave in your will, a planned gift is any charitable gift that you wouldn't be able to give through a check or cash today.

Talking to your advisor about your estate plan is the best place to start. They will help you evaluate your situation and determine which assets are most advantageous to leave to family and which would be better left to charity. The beauty of planned giving is that most people can leave a significant gift to charity, whether it's through a gift while they're living or one that benefits the causes they care about after they're gone.

Bequests, or gifts left to charity through a will, are one of the most common types of planned gifts. Qualified charitable distributions from an IRA are also a popular giving tool for donors age 70 ½ or above. For those who would like to make a gift to charity while still generating a stream of income, a charitable gift annuity may make sense. It's important to talk to your advisor about the best gifts for your unique situation.

Many people think of writing a check when making a charitable gift, but gifts of appreciated assets, life insurance, real estate and more can also be an excellent way to make an impact on the causes you care about. Not all nonprofits are able to accept complex gifts, but Akron Community Foundation can accept a wide variety of assets to establish or contribute to your charitable fund.

If you haven't yet let us know about your bequest plans, please contact Laura Lederer so we can include you in our legacy society, the Edwin C. Shaw Society.

We encourage you to contact Laura Lederer, vice president and chief development officer. We would be happy to meet with you and your advisor to discuss planned giving opportunities that may be right for you.

Bequest Giving

With thoughtful planning, you can leave a meaningful legacy to your favorite charities. A popular way to make a legacy gift is through a charitable bequest in your will or trust. Your gift can support a beloved charity, augment your current giving, or even be used to establish an endowment fund at Akron Community Foundation.

Learn More

Edwin C. Shaw Society

Named for the man who created Akron Community Foundation with a bequest in his will, the Edwin C. Shaw Society celebrates those who have named the foundation in a planned gift, such as a bequest, charitable gift annuity or life insurance policy.

Learn More

Horizontal Rule

Stay Connected

Sign up for our e-newsletter